I’m a 30 year old Indian citizen and have been working as an English Language trainer across several corporate companies for two years in India. I have a bachelor’s degree in business management and I have decided to enter the teaching profession. However career decisions aren’t always easy and the more you think the more confusing it seems to get. I’m thinking of the following options:

1. Considering that I’m a non-native speaker, do you think it’s a good idea to do your CELTA course in the country where you’d like to teach, in this case Turkey. I’m aware that there are CELTA courses offered in India as well, and if I were to do it here, then it doesn’t work out to be quite as expensive considering traveling and living costs and there being absolutely no difference in the legitimacy or the methodology of the course.
On the other hand, I feel doing the CELTA course in Turkey would give me the opportunity to build up a network and possibly meet prospective employers in person, considering the problems non-native speakers face in sorting out a work permit. In addition, I would be more familiar with the country besides having a great holiday as well.

2. In addition, I’m assuming that it’s usually difficult to arrange work permits particularly for a non-native speaker, which makes it even more confusing. I’m also thinking about BA in applied linguistics in Canada, Australia or NZ, considering that these countries are relatively easy to migrate to and acquire citizenship, however it’s a long-winded approach.

Does this make any difference at all? What do you think is practical? I still can’t seem to make up my mind. I’d appreciate any advice or suggestions. Thanks very much for your help.
El

You are right that the CELTA will be recognised worldwide, regardless of whether you take it in India or Turkey. The advantage of taking it in the country where you want to teach is, as you thought, the possibility of developing local contacts, often through the CELTA course centre itself.

All employers have certain criteria when it comes to recruiting teachers, so having those local contacts will be of benefit only if you meet the other criteria that the local employer is looking for.

Legislation in some countries, for example, only allows work permits for certain nationalities.

In terms of not being a native speaker, your employment options will, unfortuantely, be more limited. Students in many schools demand to be taught by native speakers, and of course the schools have to meet this demand to stay in business. Thankfully, this is beginning to change, as people realise that you do not have to be a native speaker to teach a language effectively! But the change is slow, and so you will have to take this into account.

So my advice is to research thoroughly the opportunities for non-native speakers in the country where you would like to teach (check jobs boards on this site and others to get an idea of typical requirements), and also to check that there is no issue with work permits for Indian citizens.